bandicoot

1 synonym for bandicoot, grouped by meaning and by how common each one is.

Noun — Any of several small marsupials of Australia and New Guinea, some with a long pointed snout, belonging to the family Peramelidae.

Synonyms

Rare, literary or technical

Precise, but they will stand out — check the sense before using one.

peramelid

How to use bandicoot

The word patterns that sound natural to a native speaker.

bandicoot species bandicoot rat native bandicoot long-nosed bandicoot

The marsupial sense is the everyday one in Australian English; the rodent sense is more specialised.

Etymology

The word ultimately comes from Telugu, from a term combining the words for "pig" and a word applied to a rat-like rodent. It was first used for Asian rodents now called bandicoot rats, and was later applied to the unrelated Australian marsupials because of their resemblance.

Full origin of bandicoot →

Frequently asked questions

What is a bandicoot?

A bandicoot is usually a small Australian or New Guinean marsupial, though the same word also names an unrelated Asian rodent, the bandicoot rat.

Is a bandicoot a rat?

Only in its second sense: a "bandicoot rat" is a true rodent from south-east Asia, separate from the Australian marsupial bandicoot.

Where do bandicoots live?

The marsupial bandicoots live in Australia and New Guinea, while bandicoot rats are found in south-east Asia.

Nearby words

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